Student Injured At Busy Intersection

A 13-year-old boy on a bicycle was cited for failure to stop at a stop sign after colliding with a car and suffering a broken collarbone Thursday morning.

The driver of the car, José Martinez, said the boy seemed to appear out of nowhere. "I stopped at the stop sign," Martinez said. "But there were many cars at the intersection that blocked me from seeing him coming."

According to Payson Police Officer Molly Hunt, the boy ran the stop sign at the intersection of West Bonita and South Colcord Road on his way to Rim Country Middle School.

"These kids need to realize that bikers have to obey the same laws as everybody else," Hunt said.

RCMS Principal Frank Larby said this was the second bike-related injury in two days. Another middle school student fell off his bike Wednesday morning on Longhorn road, injuring his wrist.

"The first thing we talked about over the intercom when we got back (Thursday morning) was to watch for traffic and obey traffic laws," Larby said. "We're also sending an automated phone message telling parents to talk to their kids about following traffic signs."

Larby said the boy will probably miss a week of school, but was going to be all right. "If this was a head injury, it could have been much worse."

Larby expressed concern that almost no students wear bicycle helmets on their way to and from school. "I can only think of one girl who wears a helmet," Larby said. "If you're coming to school on a bike in the morning or leaving in the afternoon, there are a lot of cars out there -- too much traffic for those streets. Nobody thought there would be 600 kids tucked into this school 20 years ago when the streets were designed," Larby said. "We're talking to the kids about safety. I hope parents will do the same. We want to keep our kids safe."